


100 - Happy Birthday

by aceofhearts88



Series: Bucky, Sam and Ana [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, happy birthday bucky, mentions of some other characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 08:32:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10213628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceofhearts88/pseuds/aceofhearts88
Summary: Bucky celebrates three birthdays, all different, but all important somehow.Though they do in fact get better and happier.





	

His 98th birthday is spent walking through the city, desperately trying to chase away the lasting shadows of the nightmares that have been plaguing him for days already again.

And it wasn't until the evening anyway when he thumbed through the newspaper on his balcony, finally ready to sit down for longer than one minute that he even realized just why the date felt so important.

His birthday. 

Alone. In a big city, having walked from one war memorial to the next, remembering pieces of what feels like three different lives squished into one.

But he was free, he was free and he was getting better.

So, Happy Birthday, James Barnes.

 

Add a year and his life was changed.

 

99.

What a number.

99th.

Well, sucky for a placement in any kind of competition, no one really wanted to come in at 99th place, but as far as birthdays were concerned it was quite a fetching number.

Fetching enough that Maria expected them for cake in the afternoon, an event that would turn into dinner and Bucky having just enough time to grab a shower before the guys would stand at his front door to drag him down into the city to the pub.

But until then, the morning belonged to Ana and him and Bucky had all intentions in the world to spend his free day with his sweet little angel. His birthday, his 99th birthday. 

He still couldn't wrap his mind around it as he slipped on a shirt before walking over to his daughter's room, as expected already being greeted with a bouncing baby girl ready to start the day. Arms reaching for him, wild brunet curls all over the place, the duck pyjamas crinkled because she moved more while waking up than any other person he knew.

"Hey, there, princess. Good Morning, Ana." He greeted her, sweeping her up into his arms and kissing her head, Ana in turn wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss onto his cheek, "That your birthday gift for your Papa?" He teased her even though she wouldn't understand really for years still, "Well, thank you. I love it." He grinned and she grinned right back, bouncing in his arms and babbling loudly. "Yeah, yeah, breakfast. I'm on it. Jeez, have a little patience, kid."

Ana huffed and babbled even more insistently so that Bucky rolled his eyes and turned her around quickly so that he could hold her up into the air above his head.  
"I'm still the adult here, young miss." He laughed out over her loud happy shrieking, "I'm calling the shots here." Ana blew a raspberry at him and Bucky chuckled, pulling her close again, "Your wish is my command, princess." And swinging her into a horizontal position with the metal arm taking her weight without a problem, Bucky grinned at his little angel and pushed her pyjama shirt up just enough to blow a loud raspberry onto her stomach.

Ana nearly howled with laughter.

\--

After breakfast, he bundled them up warm, winter hadn't entirely left Romania yet and though Bucharest was no longer covered in snow, it still was quite cold when the wind came in and just like last year Bucky had the intention to spend quite some time outside.

With Ana in her stroller, tugging on the pink blanket and excitedly babbling to her doll – the squishy non-plastic one Luca had turned up with on christmas after Bucky had helped him assemble that doll house for his kid that had only come with Russian and Chinese instructions, and even Bucky had not understood either of them – Bucky then made his way out into the city.

He took the same tour he had taken last year when he had still been more or less alone, the trust to Nicu not yet eternally formed after the discovery of his real identity. One year ago where he had still struggled majorly at times, where some nights were spend screaming and crying, trying to let anything soothe the pain that memories caused.

What a change one year can bring.

Today he barely recognized anymore whom he had been back then, an incomplete person, someone stuck between too many question marks.

And walking the Memorial tour now, from one war memorial to the next in some of Bucharests oldest corners, it only showed him how much things had gone up. Ana pointed at everything and everyone as always and Bucky answered the unasked questions, and he told her stories.

Stories that were in turth memories.

"We never went this far east." He spoke to himself and her as they stood outside the Soviet War Memorial and Cemetery, "Furthest we went was Prague. Hydra had no plans for the Soviets, as far as they were concerned the Red Room had that under control. Never crossed paths with the Red Army either back in the day, until of course when that life ended for me." Ana hummed as if she understood, when in truth it was just the sound of his voice that she liked, leaning forward in his arms to look closer at the flowers beyond the iron fence.

"But even then, even as the Soldier, I never went to Romania." Bucky mused, readjusting his hold on her, "I was everywhere in Europe, never here. One day I'll spent some time figuring it out, but today I've got no nerve for it. Come on, if we're lucky Rita still has those cakes we like so much." He told her and set her back into the stroller, "And we better be, it's my birthday."

\--

"Steve made a fuss about the one birthday I had during the war with both of us on the frontlines. But well, you know, he tends to make a scene out of everything he does." Bucky chuckled and looked down at the stroller where Ana was trying to eat two pieces of cake at the same time, hands full and mouth even fuller. Bucky rolled his eyes and leaned back in the chair, watching the busy cafe ongoings, sending a smile to Rita when she glanced over to him, rolling her eyes in annoyance over the teens who couldn't decide on what to order.

"We were in London on that day, and to this day I have no idea how they were able to come up with a cake, but there was cake. And god, they were all singing and it was horrible. Stark pulled up with some candle that was supposed to be unable to be blown out, instead it kinda set the whole cake on fire and I've never known that sugar could catch fire that quickly." He went with his story, Ana's eyes on him while she held out a piece of cake.

"Thank you." He told her and stuck it in his mouth, chewing before talking again, "Monty and Dum Dum were screaming for water, Steve and Dernier were waving their jackets. Stark was yelling at them to just stop, Carter was facepalming in the corner, but I could hear her laughing. And I couldn't even stand anymore, I was laughing so hard, Gabe was holding me up but he was laughing, too, and we kinda slid down against the wall. It was one of the most beautiful birthdays I had."

And then he caught sight of the time and bit back a curse, they were running awfully close to being late and Maria would never let him hear the end of it. 

\--

They made it on time in the end and Nicu snatched up Ana as he opened the door for them, leaving Bucky to carry the stroller inside before he was grabbed and pulled against the still free shoulder of the older/younger man.

"Happy Birthday, Grandpa." Nicu laughed and Bucky groaned, pushing himself out of the embrace again and past Nicu into the living room.  
"You're hilarious." He deadpanned, smiling when Maria came rushing over to him to wrap him into his arms, wishing him a beautiful birthday as well while already leading him over to the dinner table.

There was cake and coffee that turned into staying for dinner as usual, they got him presents despite him having argued against it for weeks already. And as expected, Bucky had to run back to his apartment to get that shower, Ana left with Nicu and Maria for the night.

He had barely pulled over a shirt when Luca was already knocking on his door, yelling for him to get his ass moving. Bucky laughed and grabbed his jacket, stuffing his wallet and keys into his pockets, he reminded himself that Luca had two below two and a wife who had gone back to school while he was staying home for the most parts or taking the kids to work like Bucky did, Luca needed the night out just as much as Bucky did.

Talking with someone who could actually talk back sounded nice.

He opened the door and Luca was smirking, promising trouble to all hells, pulling him into the corridor and down the stairs to where the other guys were already waiting, singing the raunchiest version of Happy Birthday Bucky had ever heard.

It wasn't the friends he had lost and missed so much sometimes, but he wasn't alone and he did have new friends who could wipe away the dark thoughts just as well, who could so easily make him feel like just another twenty something man enjoying his life.

Happy Birthday to him then.

 

Add another year and his life was changed again.

 

It felt like there were kids everywhere in the house, even though it really was just Ana, Tommy and Ana's friend Eli, but one five year old and two kids edging towards their second birthday in a few short months can cause quite the ruckus. 

They are running from room to room and Bucky lost sight of his daughter hours ago, but he trusts everyone who was with them in their house on this day. And after all Tommy Wilson would protect his little Ana from everything and everyone anyway.

Bucky himself was sitting on the couch in the living room, plate with cake in his hands, content for now to watch the people around him. Sharon and Sarah were talking over by the patio doors, laughing, heads close together, whispering from time to time, throwing glances in Steve's direction.

Darlene was talking to Amanda, his niece and no, Bucky had still not worked his head around that, just as much as he hadn't wrapped his head around the 100 on the birthday cake. What a number, a whole century, a whole fucking century. Over in the kitchen, Steve was leaning against the kitchen counter, laughing over whatever Rhodey had just been telling him, Joey and Nora, James and Paul Jones. 

It was a wonderful day, so very different again from the last year, and the year before that, but it still was perfect.

\--

It had started perfectly already. 

Sam had woken him up with kisses and hands sliding down his body when Bucky was grinning against his lips.

They had made breakfast together with Ana clumsily singing Happy Birthday over and over again, no matter how many times they told her it was okay to stop now. 

They had taken a walk then, that was a tradition Bucky was never going to stop if he could help it, it might not be Bucharest anymore but it was still a beautiful city. 

And then during Ana's nap, T'Challa had called, specifically timed this time while Ana was sleeping to get a chance to talk to Bucky without the toddler trying to crawl into the screen of the laptop. It had felt great, T'Challa's laughter in his ears, Sam's arm around his waist.

It was warm and fuzzy, and Bucky really had felt special.

And it was of course shortly after T'Challa had to go again and Ana woke up that Darlene was shushing Rhodey into the house with him carrying a cake that really was way too big. Tommy nearly ran Bucky over and then proceeded to yell right in his ear, wishing him a "Happy Birthday, oldie", earning himself a loud call of his name from his mother and grandmother. Sam and Rhodey just laughed and Bucky glared at them for a second before Tommy commanded his attention again for the picture he had drawn him.

Ana was handed around as always, showing off the new dress as if it was her birthday and not his big full century day. Rhodey squeezed his shoulder while Bucky was still kneeling for Tommy, Sarah hugged him and called him fit for an old fella. Darlene squished his face and then hugged him tight enough to have him stop breathing for a few seconds, nothing new there either.

And then Steve and Sharon, both of them loaded with presents and Bucky glared at Steve who had the nerve to point at Sharon who in turn shoved at him and kissed Bucky on the cheek, telling Steve to show some respect to their Elders. 

The rest has trickled in after they had their little family time, eating lunch that Darlene and Sam made with half a receipt and half endless bickering. Nicu and Maria had called in the meantime, both of them promising to visit soon.

It just all felt so amazing.

\--

"You okay?" 

Bucky looked up where he had maybe gotten a bit too lost in his thoughts as around him people still laughed and talked, he had just wanted to sit down for a short moment, to take it all in. Sam dropped onto the couch next to him, his hand coming up to rest on Bucky's knee.

"Yeah, just leaned back to enjoy." Bucky told him, setting the plate down on the table to lean over and cup Sam's face for a kiss. As if staged of course they got a chorus of "ewwww" from the below five brigade but they both just grinned and kissed longer.

"Having a good time?" Sam whispered at him when they broke apart again, one hand of his stroking through Bucky's hair.  
"The best." Bucky told him, smiling bright and happy because he was, so incredibly happy, "There isn't a lot that could make this day more beautiful."  
"Oh, I disagree." Sam laughed and let his other hand slip under Bucky's shirt, fingers dancing over the bare skin on his back, "Because Ana is going to spend the night with Uncle Steve and Aunt Sharon."

And okay, yes, totally turning this day even more beautiful.

Bucky smirked and Sam smirked right back, just as the kids rounded the couch once more and with loud screams of attack threw themselves at them. 

"Happy Birthday, Bucky." Sam told him under grabby hands and kicking feet and Bucky laughed and blew a kiss at him.

And yes, Happy Birthday to me, he thought, might be the best so far.

After all, 100 was quite an awesome number.


End file.
